Sunday Gospel Reflection, July 4, 2021: Many who heard him were astonished...

Many who heard him were astonished…

How open are you to hearing God’s voice and acting on it?

   God clearly has a plan for Ezekiel: I am sending you to the Israelites, God tells the future prophet. Ezekiel has no choice in the matter: he is called by God to deliver God’s word to a people who are stubborn, inflexible, and doubtful of God’s promises, rebels who have rebelled against me, God calls them. But God insists that Ezekiel will speak on his behalf, such that, even if the people refuse to listen, they shall know that a prophet has been among them. God’s grace among them will be patent; it’s up to them to accept it or to refuse it.

   In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus encounters similar resistance from the people of Nazareth, a conservative town peopled by farmers, people who have known Jesus from childhood. They can only see Jesus from within their own narrow parameters; when Jesus begins to teach in the synagogue, they express not just their astonishment but also their doubt: Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? Jesus comes to Nazareth as God’s prophet; like Ezekiel it is Jesus’ responsibility to speak God’s word. But the people reject him outright, and Jesus is amazed at their lack of faith. They have no capacity to take in the grace he represents except on their own limited terms.

   Paul, too, has received revelations from God, he tells the Corinthians; following Jesus, Paul is called to proclaim the good news. But Paul also knows that a thorn in the flesh has been given to him to keep him from being too elated. Whatever that thorn might be – and scholars have myriad theories about this – the thorn is sent to humble Paul, and will remain with him, though he prays repeatedly that it might leave him. Paul willingly participates in Christ’s suffering, boasting only of his weaknesses, that the power of Christ might dwell in him. Like the psalmist in Psalm 123, Paul’s eyes are fixed on the Lord. It is only when Paul opens to the Lord’s voice within that he is effective in his proclamation of God’s word for the sake of Christ. 

   How open are we to God’s grace, sent to us in the form of his messengers? How often are we obstinate when confronted with that grace? How easily do we recognize our own limitations? On the other hand, how often are we open to the possibilities God places before us? And how willing are we to persist in sharing the good news, even when we encounter resistance or obstacles?

This post is based on OLMC’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com